Gainsborough House And Attached Railings

This is a substantial house, likely dating from around 1780, with a rear extension built in the early 19th century. It is constructed of limestone ashlar to the front elevation, painted on the ground floor, with rubble stonework visible beneath the basement windows. The rear of the house is also ashlar, with a parapeted roof covered in artificial slate. The front slope of the roof to the rear is also slate-covered. Two large stacks, one with early clay pots, are visible on the right and left sides, indicating coped party walls.

The front of the house is three storeys and has a basement. It has a two-window facade. The first floor features a six-over-six sash window with a wrought-iron window guard and splayed jambs to the right, and a plate glass sash with splayed jambs to the left. The second floor has two fixed six-pane windows with opening lights in plain reveals and stone sills. The ground floor incorporates a 19th-century ashlar porch with a twelve-pane glazed door, concealing a six-panel door with reeded fielded panels, a cast iron lion's mask knocker, and a stone doorcase. To the left of the porch is an eight-pane fixed window with wrought iron bars. A twelve-pane fixed light window is located in the basement. A band course runs over the ground floor, while a sill band is present on the first floor. The building is topped with a moulded eaves cornice and a coped parapet with stone dies on the left, centre, and right. A single-storey ashlar extension adjoins the building to the left, connecting with No. 9 Ainslie's Belvedere. The rear elevation features grouped sashes, including two/three, six/eight, and two/three, with stone mullions and continuous wrought iron balconettes on both the ground and first floors. The second floor has eight/eight and six/six sash windows, and a plate glass sash is present in the basement. Lead hopperheads and down pipes, with a long lead gutter, are visible on the left flank wall.

The interior of the house has not been inspected.

Attached to the right are wrought iron railings with shaped heads, set on limestone and concrete bases. Taller railings and a gate are present to the left of the porch.

According to Ison, the house dates to 1780. A newspaper advertisement from 27 November 1794 refers to the auction of "Ainslie's Belvedere," encompassing six dwelling houses. William Ainslie, a former lessee of a house in The Circus, was associated with the property. It is reputed, though with uncertain evidence, that the artist Thomas Gainsborough (died 1788) resided here, however, this is unlikely given that Gainsborough returned to London in 1774, before the building's likely construction.